Reviews by PorterLambic:

You want to hear spooky? In 1975 I was 13 years old and living near where the Edmund Fitzgerald went down. Everyone talked about it. And I share the same name as one of the twenty-nine men who went down with her. I get a chill every time I hear her name. This brew is a fine tribute to all the hard-working people who crew the boats of the Great Lakes. I thank Great Lakes Brewing Co. for doing such a masterful job on this beer (and Gordon Lightfoot for such a hauntingly respectful song in their memory). On the 30th anniversary of her loss, I opened my first bottle of Edmund Fitzgerald Porter.

Pours almost black with brown around the edges. A 1" tan head drops to a spotty film and leaves some lace.Smell is rich with roasted malt, caramel, chocolate, coffee, toffee, smoke, and peat. Excellent balance and complexity.Taste follows through with the same flavors: roasted malt, caramel, chocolate, coffee, toffee, smoke, and peat and just a hint of alcohol. And it only gets better as it warms.A medium+ body and lighter effervescence. This is a great beer. Get some and enjoy it. I wouldn't even share this it is so good. (1,130 characters)

More User Reviews:

Pours a deep black with a very faint hit of dark brown along the edges. Tan colored head that mellows out to a thin span across the top of the beer leaving very little lacing on the way down. Initial smell is heavy chocolate and roasted malts, kind of had to coax it out. After the beer warmed up a bit and the glass was swirled, I started to get heavier notes of sweetness from the malts as well as some rich and milky smells. Incredible.

The taste is wonderful. First sip gives a huge roasted malt flavor up front, with a bit of a carbonation snap to it. After a little bit, more flavors start to develop: burnt campfire wood, nuttiness, sweet coffee beans, roasted grains. At the end of the sip, out comes an ever-so-slight yet still very noticeable bite from the hops, to finish the beer off with a nice floral touch. Honestly, the bitterness from the hops at the end, along with the malts and the sweetness of the chocolate is incredible - very nearly perfect in balance. Slightly creamy, but a little thin for what I was expecting.

Lovely porter, here. Great balance, great drinkability, and overall just a great beer. Anyone looking for a top-of-the-line porter should look no further (unless they haven't already had Founders Porter). Great price, easy to find, and more than enough to fulfill your dark and roasted malty needs. Give this one a shot and thank me later. (1,379 characters)

Appearance: Poured a very dark brown color, nice three finger head that slowly receded to about a quarter inch of foam that left some nice lacing.Smell: The aroma was coffee, dark chocolate and dark roast malt, with a bit of a caramel note.Taste: Very close to the smell, coffee and chocolate flavors were dominant, with some slight caramel flavorsMouthfeel: Rather thin for such a robust flavor.Overall: This was a very good beer, I'll seek this one out again. (465 characters)

Look: Dark brown but transparent enough that you can see ruby highlights through the glass. Pours with light tan head that settles to a film, leaving some minor lacing. Smell: Dark roasted and caramelized aromas Taste: Big caramel roasted malt but not over-sweet. Very lager-like balance with mild herbal hops. Feel: Medium body, nice carbonation.

Overall: A classic porter for me. This one is robust yet very drinkable and notable for its clean lager-like caramel flavor that blends nicely with the roasted notes. (522 characters)

Along with Kalamazoo my favorite midwestern micro beers,this beer is one of the reasons why.Pours a deep creamy brown with a very creamy off white head.The aroma is very coffee-like with some bitter chocolate notes.The taste is also very coffeeish with some slight earthiness, very creamy tasting.A smoky backbone to this makes this a great complex example of the style. (370 characters)

Appearance  Dark, muddy, almost black in color with a gorgeous head that came up with ease and down with much protest. It left some cool pits on top of the liquid and some nice lacing as well.

Smell  The chocolate came across the room at the pour. Like LBB said, its more of a cakey kind of chocolate than anything else. The coffee grounds are very sharp and forward as well. I can pick up some darkish malt but it is mostly trumped by the coffee and chocolate notes.

Taste  Theres an interesting bitterness that comes out at the taste, but otherwise the tongue follows the nose.

Mouthfeel  Close to medium-bodied with some very slight carbonation. The flavor profile here really sets off the taste buds in the front part of your tongue.

Drinkability  This is a terrific, easy-drinking session porter, if there is such a thing.

Comments  Thanks to garthwaite for sending me not one, but two of these babies. (938 characters)

A-Black body, small white head, no ruby edgesS-Mild roasted malt, cocoa, light on smellT-Better and Bigger than aroma, bigger coca flavor and some roasted coffe flavors, a little nutty, few hops but decent bitter finish, some sweetness, reminded me a little of a malted milkshakeM-Creamy, med-full body, some carbonationD-I wouldn't mind having a fewe more of these. Very nice porter. (435 characters)